


Favorable Fallout

by CheshireCity



Series: 12 Days of Christmas 2015 [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Christmas, Holidays, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Game AU, spoilers for A6A6I5, trollak language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-18
Updated: 2015-12-18
Packaged: 2018-05-07 08:36:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5450243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheshireCity/pseuds/CheshireCity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six years ago the final battle came to a close, leaving human and troll alike stranded on a new and foreign version of Earth. Left with nothing but the mundane proceedings of everyday life, they banded together and picked up the pieces. Now in their senior year of college, Equius and Dirk are trudging through their finals and looking forward to winter break. While each is trying to make Christmas special, Equius has a surprise far greater than his boyfriend expects.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Favorable Fallout

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chocolatemoosey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chocolatemoosey/gifts).



> The terms 'pashu' and 'laali' are terms of endearment created by the-alternian-lexicon on tumblr.

            The final battle ended with a calamitous bang.

            With a final roar, Lord English exploded into blinding rays of multicolor light, wind bursting outwards in a powerful wave. It was deafening, the final participants staggering where they stood, wounded and bleeding and in growing shock that everything was finally over.

            Not everything had gone as planned, but the ordeal was over. Their enemies defeated, they had felt the session tearing apart at the seams. No longer terrified, they waited together, accepting whatever end they had to meet.

What they got was the last thing they’d expected: not only were they alive but so many others of the peoples of their home planets.

            Alternia was beyond saving, unfortunately, but Earth? Earth was thriving, populous with foreign fauna and lifeforms. Trolls and humans intermingled freely, working in cohabitation without the threat of caste systems or racial profiling. Things were… uncannily peaceful.

            The first thing they noticed, however, wasn’t the world around them, but each other. Healed from their wounds no matter how grievous, they appeared as old as they had in their session, time having moved forward without them. The sprites couldn’t function outside of the game matrix, and it was quickly discovered that the composite parts had split, leaving a jumble of confused, very alive trolls. Those that were duplicates – like Rose and Dave and their corresponding sprite selves – merely merged together, memories blending into a cohesive whole. There were hugs and tears all around – even the Striders weren’t exempt from the swell of gratitude and affection.

            Still, it was eerie: those that had died were gone forever, erased entirely from time. It was hard to think that even if they were in some dream bubble somewhere, that they’d never be seen again. The group was left without closure: they didn’t know how to honor people that the world had forgotten entirely.

            They quickly ascertained that they were in Washington, where John had first entered the original session. Things didn’t look much different topographically, save for some strange wild white creatures and the addition of several carnivorous plants. The trolls, however, were jubilant to see that the lusii had been revived.

            John naturally was curious to explore his home, half scared at what he would find. But there it was, just as he had left it. The mailbox with its flag raised, the stupid slime ride in the front, the car in the driveway. He burst through the open front door, scaring the ever loving shit out of his father as he baked cakes in the kitchen. John burst into tears, unable to believe his luck. It was his birthday and he had a family again.

            Mr. Egbert was very confused by his son’s erratic behavior, asking if the kids at school had been mean again. John just wiped his eyes and shook his head, awkwardly remembering that his friends were gathered two feet away in his living room. “Hey, so uh, my friends came over?” he offered awkwardly.

            “I figured you’d want a party after all!” his father merely smiled.

            The group of fifteen sat awkwardly around the cramped room, paper plates in lap while they ate their cake and tried to puzzle out their new alien world. It was clear that trolls and humans had intermingled, although they weren’t sure if the trolls had come from an Alternia or not. For all they could tell, they were just as much a native of Earth as any other species.

            “Where are we supposed to go?” Dave asked quietly, trying not to draw the attention of Mr. Egbert. His voice was tense, and everyone could tell who was on his mind.

            “You don’t have to go back, you know,” Rose assured him confidently. “After everything we learned about our guardians, they probably were brought back with some sort of uncanny understanding. After all, don’t you think it’ll be weird for my mom? She’ll have a little version of herself to care for now,” she shot Roxy a fond glance. “I mean, unless this place has a big Rose?”

            Kanaya hummed lightly and focused intently on her cake.

            “Maybe… there are both,” Dirk replied, voice stilted. “I mean… I don’t know what Alpha Dave was really like.” He shot Dave a concerned look. There was an unspoken understanding that he was afraid that his guardian might be no better than Dave’s had been.

            “We’ll have to see, I guess,” Jane frowned. “My house has got to be nearby. Hey… do you think Betty Crocker even exists anymore?”

            The group sat in dumbfounded silence. “We did it,” John sighed softly. “We defeated fruit Gushers.”

            “Wait,” Tavros spoke up suddenly. “If your guardians are alive again, then, uhm, what does that mean for us trolls? Do we have our lusii back?” The hope in his tone was nearly heartbreaking. “Or… do you think that uh, maybe our ancestors are our lusii now?”

            “Well…” Kanaya frowned. “Everyone else that died stayed dead – unless they were turned into a sprite, of course. I don’t really know what that would mean for everyone else. What about our dancestors, for example? Would they be back as well? And if so… where are they?”

            “We are going to be in so much fucking trouble,” Rose sighed without sounding too bothered. “I should be in New York right now. How the hell am I supposed to get back there?”

            The answer, as it turned out, was by airship. Understanding immediately what they were dealing with, the trolls helped the kids figure out how to pilot the machines, programming coordinates for the specific destinations. Roxy and Rose left for New York with the promise that they’d visit for holidays. Kanaya went with them, naturally, hoping to use Beta Roxy’s laboratory equipment to hone in on where the jade bloods and the mother grubs had gone to.

            John and Jane returned to their respective homes. Not knowing where else to go and having lost the advantage of her player class and aspect, Terezi had felt stranded. She voiced her concerns about being a burden on the others, but was equally concerned about trying to fend for herself in a world that probably had both a lot more adults and a lot more rules than Alternia had. She did not, after all, want to get in trouble with _THE LAW_.

            While several people offered, it was ultimately the Egberts that she chose to stay with. Mr. Egbert had taken the whole thing way too calmly, shrugging and saying they had a spare room that no one used. Saying that the linens were probably not to a young girl’s liking, he promptly excused himself and left to do some shopping.

            Jade and Jake decided to return home to their island, excited to see how the landscape had changed. There would be a lot to experience and explore, and they had tons to share with one another. Due to their unfortunate timing and Jade’s forced slumber, they really hadn’t had much time to spend together. They extended their invitation to Tavros and Nepeta, knowing that their homes would have more than enough room for friends.

            Which left Dirk and Dave. Without much other choice, they decided to return to Texas, vouching to protect each other should things not work out. Karkat immediately spoke up, demanding to accompany Dave, his protectiveness showing clearly. There was really no turning him down, and besides, Dave had no desire to. He was, however, much more hesitant to incorporate Gamzee into the equation. But Karkat had insisted, feeling bad for his old friend despite their harrowing experiences with one another. He couldn’t find it in him to leave the poor clown to his own devices.

            Equius had stayed quiet the entire proceeding, keeping to himself and trying not to impose. He certainly had his preferences, but he felt bad asserting his opinion – he’d done quite enough of that as Arquisprite. He missed the strange pair of glasses who had become so literally a part of himself. But the separation of sprite bodies had left the shades silent and powered off. Dirk asserted that it was better that way and crushed them underfoot. He was done with that chapter of his life.

            And it was Dirk, surprisingly, that offered his hand to the nervous indigo blood. “Hung out with you long enough, man,” he shrugged. “You’re pretty alright when you’re not constantly flexing and making people feel your muscles.”

            Equius flushed immediately, shamed by his past actions as a sprite. He wasn’t quite so bold himself, but his ego and confidence had inflated greatly under AR’s presence. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and nodded, extending his thanks. And so he had arrived in Texas, immediately hating the humidity and the heat.

            That had been six years ago already and a lot had changed. For one, having settled back into the routine of daily life, the kids had resumed and consequently finished high school. At eighteen years of age, they had nervously begun their first years of college accompanied, to their surprise, by their troll companions.

            As it turned out, Tavros had been correct in assuming that their lusii had been revived. In Altmerica, at least, the trolls continued to grow and maturate in the way they had on Alternia, raised from eggs to grubs to wigglers and finally young trolls under the careful eyes of their ivory guardians. What had become of their ancestors was left to the history books, a subject that neither troll nor human was any longer good at since the merging of cultures. For instance, half of the presidents had been trolls, some of which were female. It was a lot to wrap their heads around.

            Tavros had managed to track down Tinkerbull on the Harley-English island, surprising everyone. His incredible amount of luck after so many sweeps of hardship gave him renewed confidence. He took care of the little creature lovingly, leading the lusii to retire from service and simply live happily alongside the Taurean. Tavros had excelled in his studies with Jade’s help, enabling him to get into a school for veterinary science. Having grown close to Jake over the years, the two left the island together, going to schools only a few miles apart. Jake was planning on studying Gender and Sexuality, but was unable to declare his major until later on in his academic career.

            Nepeta, meanwhile, stayed on the island with Jade. Shared interests and proximity had made them fast friends and everyone teased that they should just get married already. She and Jade chose to take college courses online, allowing them the convenience of working in their pajamas. After her interactions with Meulin, Nepeta had decided to take up Special Education, focusing on Deaf Studies. She hadn’t managed to locate Pounce, but she knew deep down that the cat must have taken up a new grub to care for. Jade, meanwhile, chose to major in Botany and Plant Biology, her love for gardening renewed. She hoped to use her inheritance to kick start a charity for habitat conservation.

            Kanaya, predictably, had settled down marvelously in the Big Apple. She was attending a school for fashion design and was interning at a high end magazine, writing articles and editorials as needed. She was on the fast track to success without a doubt. Like Nepeta, she had given up on the hunt to find her mother. While she had discovered where the mother grubs congregated, she had made the executive decision not to intervene. In her new life, her lusii had the hefty task of raising a new jade blood.

            Rose and Roxy were raised by Beta Roxy as twin sisters. They found that they were instantly popular in high school, an experience that neither of them had the pleasure of in their past lives. Heading the senior class, they had graduated with honors as valedictorians. Rose of course, entered college for Psychology, while Roxy chose Human Services with the hope of becoming an alcohol awareness counselor.

            Terezi also had the satisfaction of graduating well, speaking as salutatorian at her school. Her work ethic and dedication had paid off twofold: not only was she able to locate her lusus, but she had been accepted into a prestigious law school. She took advantage of the young dragon’s ability for flight, using her as transport to visit her friends.

            John, impassioned by his experiences in the game, had resolved to make other kids feel valued and appreciated. He began volunteering in anti-bullying campaigns while handling a major in Music Theory. He would need to go on to higher education to gain his teaching certificate, but he was determined to become a music teacher. Dave had said he sounded suspiciously like Mr. Schue from ‘Glee’. John told Dave to shut up.

            Jane had kept in steady contact with Roxy, eventually building a steady relationship with her. Wanting to accompany her girlfriend, she had come out to New York to attend college, getting slowly acquainted with big city life. Knowing she wanted to work in the culinary arts, she began her school life by mastering in Business. If she was to start her own corporation, after all, she’d need practical managerial sense.

            Gamzee had barely passed high school, not really seeing why it was so important. Like Jane, however, he went into the food service industry, working part time at a restaurant while he worked on his Culinary Arts degree. He wanted to be a chef and open his own restaurant. He was good, so it wasn’t entirely impossible. It was more his business sense that had everyone worried. Karkat swore he’d have to help the poor guy.

            Karkat himself did relatively well in high school, getting average grades as he balanced trying to work in customer service positions. He got laid off often for his temperament, but it began to cool out of age and necessity. He decided to major in English while getting a certificate in Screen Writing. He had aspirations of writing great romantic comedies, and he certainly had the background knowledge to back it up.

            While neither of them found their lusii, they were eagerly taken in by Alpha Dave, a laidback if gregarious young man building his empire in the film industry. He quickly proved himself trustworthy to Dave and Dirk, making them feel welcome in his luxury home. Like the Lalondes, they were introduced to strangers as twins, and the two soon grew comfortable in their new life.

            Dave accompanied Karkat in his college of choice, taking a handful of courses that surprised everyone. He had never seemed too interested in school before, so his sudden seriousness seemed to come out of the blue. He chose to double major in Archeology and Anthropology while juggling a minor in Photo Journalism. Everyone thought he had lost it, but Rose encouraged his ambitious pursuits.

            Dirk and Equius also attended the same college. Majoring in Robotics Engineering, they had their work cut out for them. They elected to be roommates, taking advantage of the dorm situation to study together for tests. While they were stuck with many undergraduate courses, they both had to take their introductory class for the major, and it wasn’t as easy as they had anticipated. Despite their advanced knowledge and experience, it seemed that robotics and technology itself had advanced. This presented an interesting challenge to the both of them.

            Now in their senior year, Dirk and Equius were just thankful that winter break had finally rolled around. The last mad dash towards finals had been harrowing at best, leaving them both sleepless, nervous wrecks. They helped each other out with their final projects, practically pulling their hair out each time they found that the mechanics didn’t function properly. Dirk had to alternate between taking caffeine and melatonin, one not helping the other. He had a mountain of Red Bull towering at the foot of his desk beside the already-full trashcan.

            Equius, for his part, was so keyed up that he had to go to the dentist – he’d broken a tooth as a result of grinding his teeth in his sleep. After that, he took medication for anxiety, nursing the crown while it healed. He’d had two lengthy papers to write on top of his project and studying for his exams: one seven pages, the other ten. Breaking down into a fit of extreme senioritis, he adjusted the margins and the sizes of the periods to make the words fill the required space.

            “I don’t even care anymore,” he said flatly, staring down his monitor. “What are they going to do? Just take _more_ of my money?”

            Dirk, meanwhile, took to procrastinating, making signs for the door to let their roommates know that they needed to concentrate. His favorite one was a poster that read ‘studying’ with the ‘-dying’ part written in bold red marker. Once that was finished, he took to doing all the laundry. Then vacuuming the apartment. Then organizing his CDs. Then he started a new television series on Netflix.

            Equius had to rein him in and sit him in front of his desk, threatening to tie him to his chair if he even thought about procrastinating further. This only backfired spectacularly, with Dirk wiggling his eyebrows and asking how exactly Equius would like to tie him to a chair and what he’d like to do to him. Equius flushed, his voice getting low and rumbly as it always did when he was turned on. The more the blond provoked him, the more daring he became until he was giving nothing but filthy suggestions. Five minutes later, and their clothes were a rumpled mess on the floor and Dirk was wrapped around the troll’s waist.

            The next morning – spotting a row of bright blue hickeys – Equius plopped Dirk back down in front of his laptop and threatened to use duct tape and no, not in any sort of sexy way. The blond was forced to give in and buckle down on his studying. However, being the perfectionist that he was, this also meant that he went into panic mode almost immediately because of course there was not enough time to memorize and do everything he needed to do. He truly was his own worst enemy.

            When the exams arrived, the two were both a complete disaster. Dirk was pretty sure he’d worn the same shirt for three days in a row and couldn’t be bothered to care. Equius meanwhile was falling asleep on his feet, having not only taken care of his own tasks, but helped Dirk accomplish his, as well. They stumbled into their last class completely devoid of fucks to give. They did their exam, high-fived, and walked out. They then proceeded to take the world’s longest nap when they returned to their dorm. Even Jade would had to have been impressed.

            But that was all behind them and they could breathe easy again – until next semester, at least. There were no more tests, no more essays, and no more projects. They could just sleep all day and hang out all night, eating whatever crap food they desired and playing movies and video games late into the hours of early morning. Not to mention they could hook up whenever the mood hit them, which had its perks. It had only been a few days and they were in heaven.

            On the twenty second, Dirk suddenly remembered that he had a mountain of gifts to buy for all his friends and loved ones. “We have to go to the store,” he announced, mid Mario Kart race. “Like, right now.”

            “Is something wrong?” Equius had asked, pausing their race.

            “Only that I’m the worst brother ever!” the blond returned, bounding off the bed and grabbing his coat. “What the hell am I supposed to get Dave for Christmas?”

            “You haven’t gotten a single present this year, have you?”

            “…maybe?”

            “Dirk.”

            “I was busy, alright?”

            “Come on,” Equius sighed, grabbing his keys. The two made their way to the bus stop and rode the short distance to the nearby mall. As to be expected, it was completely packed.

            “Ugh, this is a nightmare,” Dirk complained, weaving through frantic mothers and screaming children.

            “Didn’t have to be,” the other teased.

            “You shut up,” Dirk pouted, making his way to the center of the mall. “Alright, so where do we start?”

            They spent the next several hours dividing the load, messaging over text about one question or another. Equius was largely put in charge of coming up with ideas for the trolls, having ideas of what was socially and culturally acceptable (which was a lot more than Dirk seemed to fear). Still, his hesitance in the face of propriety was pretty cute.

            Dirk, meanwhile, tried to set about the task of buying for his human friends. It didn’t go nearly as easily as he had anticipated.

            “What kind of gift says ‘you’re my buddy, you’re my pal but also I don’t want to sleep with you’?” he texted urgently.

            “Jake?”

            “No, Jane. Of course Jake.”

            “Well he already has every movie in existence.”

            “Thanks, Netflix. But hey, maybe I can get him a t-shirt of some of his campy movies?”

            “Are you at Hot Topic?”

            “Maybe.”

            “What, is he thirteen?” Equius had picked up on human sarcasm quickly.

            “Some times. And hey! They’ve got Ghostbusters, so John is totally set.”

            “Too bad they don’t have something from ‘The Wicker Man’.”

            “OHMYGOD.”

            Equius paused in his texting, looking about his surroundings. It was getting late, and the place still had barely begun to clear out. He’d been faring far better than his better half, though he feared that that was solely because he was worse at picking out presents. He had the type of anxiety that got progressively worse over the course of a gift-giving period, starting with feelings of ‘this is perfect’ and derailing into proclamations of ‘what was I even thinking’.

            He looked over his haul with anticipation. For Tavros, he’d found an anatomical model of a fairy bull – hopefully he’d find it scientifically interesting given his pursuits in the veterinary field.

            Karkat had been a little more difficult, providing that his tastes were so particular. He found a parody of a romance novel that the troll was adamantly protesting, hoping that the satirizing would appeal to him.

            Nepeta had been the easiest for him, having known her the longest. He also had purchased the most for her out of his bias. Having found her an ASL visual dictionary, he also had picked up a small white plush cat and a set of high quality colored pencils.

            Kanaya’s present he was most concerned over. It was no secret that he was completely clueless when it came to fashion: Kanaya liked to say that he and Dirk dressed like “typical fuckboys”, whatever that meant. Not knowing what would offend her tastes he bought a simple, if elegant red scarf along with some graphite drawing pencils.

            Recently, Terezi had gotten back in contact with Dave and the two had become fast friends. They had taken up Dirk’s old hobby of rewriting Pony Pals books into raunchy and bloodstained serials, so it wasn’t too hard to find her a gift. Picking up some white out and a few children’s books, Equius figured he could call it a day.

            For Gamzee he bought a snow globe and a pack of Faygo, because frankly the guy had been an obnoxious shit throughout their time in the game and Equius was hard to forgive. The dopey clown could probably entertain himself for hours with a snow globe, anyway.

            By the end of their shopping trip, both Dirk and Equius were worn out. What hadn’t been wrapped in store they dumped on their kitchen table at home and packaged as quickly as possible. This led to most of the gifts looking a bit sloppy and overwhelmingly identical.

            “Guess we should have picked up a couple different wrapping papers,” Dirk hummed.

            “Too late now,” his boyfriend groaned. “Come on, time for bed.”

            In the morning, they packed their things together and triple checked the dorm for forgotten items. They were going back to Texas for the holidays and would be leaving that night. Equius, by that time had procured them an airship, for which they were both grateful. They had gone through the hassle of airports and long lines at security and frankly, they just didn’t have the patience.

            “About ready to go?” Dirk asked, wrangling a large suitcase into the living room.

            “Yeah,” the troll returned, fiddling with his keys. “Real quick though? I thought we’d open our presents to each other while we were here.”

            “Just couldn’t wait, huh?” the blond teased, plopping down on the couch. “Alright, then, you first,” he insisted, rummaging around their tree. It was less than a foot tall and bent to one side, some cheap decoration they’d found at the supermarket. On one side they had hung tiny ornaments, but when those had run out, Dirk had taken to hanging up little drawings with paperclips. Most of them were terribly offensive or involved horses, or both.

            Finding the right package amid their other presents, he scooted the bag across to his boyfriend. Equius examined the wrapping – it was surprisingly good for Dirk’s usual. He had a creeping suspicion that it was done by a sales associate, but he said nothing. Tugging at the tissue paper, he freed the item at the bottom. Pawing through the remaining blue wrapping he pulled out the plastic-incased item.

            “Precision screwdrivers!” he exclaimed excitedly. “That’s fantastic, I kept losing or breaking the other ones.”

            “Thought you might enjoy that,” Dirk smiled. “I figured you had just about every other kind of tool there was.”

            “Well that’s not far from the truth,” the troll admitted. “Thank you, Dirk.” They kissed briefly before Equius got off the couch to obtain his partner’s present. This one was set entirely to the side of the frumpy tree, a huge box wrapped in eye catching gold and red stripes.

            “Holy shit, Eq!” the blond exclaimed, sizing up his gift as the indigo blood pushed it over to him. “What is this, another stuffed horse?”

            “No,” the troll laughed, resuming his seat beside his boyfriend. He perched on the edge of the couch in anticipation. “Go on.”

            Dirk eagerly attacked the present, tearing off the paper and discarding the ribbons. He cocked his head a moment as he examined the nondescript box beneath. “Alright…” Undoing the tape, he hefted the lid… to find another box. “Nice,” he laughed, extracting the nestled cardboard.

            But under that lid was another box.

            And then another.

            And another.

            “How many fucking boxes did you put together!?” Dirk exclaimed, a bit exasperated. “It’s like an never ending matryoshka doll of torment!”

            “Language,” Equius teased, unable to keep from grinning.

            “Yeah, yeah,” the blond shrugged, hefting yet another box from the confines of the previous ones. “At least you didn’t take the time to wrap each of these.”

            “Thought about it,” the Sagittarian admitted. “It would take too long and it was too expensive.”

            “When did you even have the time to pull this off!?”

            “When you were at class.”

            “It was the three hour one on Wednesday nights, huh?”

            “Mnhmn.”

            “Flipping Christ, Eq!”

            “Keep going,” the troll urged.

            Finally, Dirk dwindled the package down to a small black box, no bigger than three inches across on all sides. “I swear to literal Jesus, if you managed to fit another box in here –”

            “Just open it.”

            Dirk shot him a suspicious glance before doing as he was bid, lifting the lid. Shock sprawled across his face instantly, and Equius tensed. Inside the container was a ring.

            “Sorry it’s not much of a presentation,” the troll mumbled. “I made it myself, so…”

            “Seriously? It’s so handsome,” Dirk breathed, carefully picking up the thick band.

            “It’s made of titanium,” Equius explained, voice tense. “I wasn’t sure if you’d react to nickel, so I thought it would be safest. I anodized it, too.” Silver white with a black band along the center, the ring positively glowed in the light of their lamps.

            “Eq…?”

            “You should see if it fits; I tried to compare it to one of your other rings. You know the class one from high school? I hope it still fits you.”

            “Eq,” Dirk interjected again. His cheeks were flush to his ears, practically obscuring the cute dusting of freckles on his cheeks. His eyes looked strangely misty, like he was about to cry. “Eq, is this…? I mean… Are you…?”

            The archer gauged his boyfriend’s reaction carefully, worrying at his bottom lip. Slowly, he dropped from the couch, pressing one knee to the floor. Dirk’s eyes grew larger, his breath catching. Equius had to steady his own breathing before continuing.

            “I know we’re not quite out of college yet,” he began. “And maybe this comes a bit too soon. But I got a job offer already and I’ve been waiting to tell you. I thought about it, and I think we’re ready. I can support us, and… and I really, really love you, Dirk. I can’t imagine spending the rest of my sweeps with anyone else,” he continued, subconsciously slipping into old vocabulary. “This isn’t often done by my people, but… will you be my matesprit for life?” he choked out. His eyes were filling with tears despite himself. “Will you marry me?”

            Dirk all but leapt off the couch, arms wrapped in a vice around the other’s neck. He broke down crying, burying his nose in the crook of Equius’ shoulder, pressing against his chest. Surprised, the troll gently wrapped his arms about the other’s waist, holding him close. “Is that…?”

            “Yes!” Dirk exclaimed with a laugh. “Of course, you dumb. What else?” He pulled away and kissed his fiancé hard on the lips. “I love you, pashu.”

            Equius melted, hearing his native tongue. Pressing a kiss to Dirk’s forehead, nose, and lips, he smiled. “I love you too, laali.


End file.
